Little bugs! Help!

[Lisa]

Hello all, Just a qusetion to ask whether anyone knows how to get rid of really annoying little black flies hanging around my Phal? They dont seem to be in the soil as such but just flying around and landing on the plant, can I get anything to get rid of this?

[Tobi]

Lisa,
Are you refering to fungal gnats? Also known as 'No-seeums' because of their
small size. If so, then they usually are attracted to decaying wood (bark) that
is usually moist. They will lay their eggs in the bark and although they are not
destructive to the plant itself, they are quite a nuisance. I use to water my
orchids in a mild dish washing detergent (dove) every time I watered for
2-3 waterings. This took care of them. Also keep up the air circulation and
inspect the medium to see if you see any of them. If the bark or moss is
old and/or decomposing, if the time is right, repot. I have been using worm
tea now for about 1 month and I can honestly say, I haven't seen a one
in any of my orchids. I hope this is the reason.

[Lisa]

Hmm, yeah maybe this is what they are, but they only seem to have appeared since i introduced a Miltonia to the collection. I only ever see one at a time and dont appear to have them in the soil?! Do you think repotting will help? and maybe spraying them with a bug killer?! Oh help! They are worrying me!

[tom499]

Tobi's advice of using dilute washing liquid sounds like a good idea, if you wash through all your plants it should get rid of them.

[Cynthia, Prescott, AZ]

Get a package of mosquito dunks from a garden supply or home center, or maybe a hardware store. These have organisms that attack the gnat larvae that live on the fungus growing on the organic material in your mix. Break off a small piece and put it in the water you are using to water your orchids with every time you see them return. A treatment should be good for several months. And you can use this on your house plants where the soil type is just right for the gnats. I would not take the approach of repotting, too much stress on plants that don't really need repotting yet, not to mention that repotting for some orchids really should be done at the right season.